Candidates excluded from Pa. Democratic governor forum cry foul

HARRISBURG — As five Democratic candidates for governor prepared for a Friday night forum a few blocks from the Capitol, two longshot hopefuls complained they were unfairly left off the invitation list.

Organizers of the event “are depriving the voters of hearing my point of view,” Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Max Myers, a Pentecostal minister from Mechanicsburg, called the situation an “injustice.”

“As a minister, I have lived a life of extending forgiveness,” Myers said in a written statement. “I have already extended that forgiveness to tonight’s sponsor. My faith does not, though, mandate that I must forget.”

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The other six declared candidates were invited to the forum sponsored by a trial lawyers’ group, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, and five planned to participate.

Scheduled to join in the forum are former state environmental protection secretary and utility regulator John Hanger, state Treasurer Rob McCord, former state environmental protection secretary Katie McGinty, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and York businessman Tom Wolf. U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz bowed out, citing a scheduling conflict.

Dan Fee, who organized the event, said Litz and Myers were not invited because they have not been included in most public polls on the eight-way race and because no one in the lawyers’ group expressed interest in hearing from them.

Fee said such judgment calls are not uncommon — often for practical reasons because too many candidates can make a forum unwieldy to manage.

Litz and Myers have been excluded from some other forums, including one sponsored earlier this month by the state’s largest teacher union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

“To have an efficient debate, it’s only natural to draw the line somewhere and invite candidates that are generally believed to be viable,” said PSEA spokesman David Broderic. “We drew the line where most other organizations did.”

Technically, none of the people raising money and campaigning for the past year are officially candidates. They can begin the process of gathering at least 2,000 voters’ signatures on Feb. 18 and must turn enough signatures by March 11 to qualify for the May 20 primary.